Pirates Respond Swiftly & Vehemently To Star’s Trade Request

The news dropped like a bomb on the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier today, but in so many ways, it should not have been surprising at all. All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds has asked for a trade. And while his name has been in trade rumors anyways for years, the Pirates responded to the news quickly and sternly, with the following comment from a team spokesman: 

Pirates comment on Bryan Reynolds requesting a trade through a team spokesman: pic.twitter.com/1SaVjxBqKa

— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) December 3, 2022

While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on ou decision-making this off-season or in the future. Our goa is to improve the Pirates for 2023 and beyond. With thres years until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates.

Wow. There's no uncertain terms there. The Pirates say they have "zero" interest in trading Reynolds. Of course, it's not like a team has never traded a player before after saying he's not on the block. There's little doubt that if someone blows them away with a trade offer, Reynolds will be wearing another uniform soon enough.

But for now, the two sides seem to be at an impasse in extension talks, which has led to this development.  

Pirates offered to make Reynolds the highest paid Pirate in team history by total $, which means more than Ke’Bryan Hayes’ $70M deal. That says something, but fairly, not that much since Reynolds has much more service time and is a more accomplished big leaguer.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 3, 2022

According to MLB Insider Jon Heyman, the Pirates actually put a contract offer on the table for Reynolds that would have made him the highest-paid Pirate in team history by total dollars. That's not saying a whole lot as the current biggest money deal on the team's books is the $70M longterm extension they signed youngster Ke’Bryan Hayes to last year. 

Reynolds is set to earn $6.75M this season in the second year of a 2-year arbitration extension. And unless something drastic happens, he'll be remaining "a key member of our team," as per the spokesman. 

Photo: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports